Situation in Niger After Military Coup
On July 26, Niger's presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum. The guard's commander, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, proclaimed himself the country's new leader.

ECOWAS Gathers Troops in Countries Bordering Niger for Possible Intervention: Reports

© AP Photo / Richard Eshun NanareshChief of Defence Staff of various ECOWAS countries leave Burma Camp at the end of a two-day Extraordinary Meeting in Accra, Ghana, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023.
Chief of Defence Staff of various ECOWAS countries leave Burma Camp at the end of a two-day Extraordinary Meeting in Accra, Ghana, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 24.08.2023
Subscribe
On July 26, Niger's presidential guard deposed and detained President Mohamed Bazoum. The guard's commander, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, proclaimed himself interim leader. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed to activate a "standby force" as a last resort to restore democracy in Niger.
Members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) with no borders with Niger have agreed to move their troops into neighboring states in readiness for a possible military intervention, French broadcaster RFI has reported, citing sources.
At the moment, military chiefs of ECOWAS member states are managing troops relocation in the countries bordering Niger which have been selected as bases of the operation, the broadcaster said in a report published on Wednesday.
Moreover, most contingents have reportedly already established their command centers and are ready to take action without further meetings of high-ranking command officers.
ECOWAS' joint contingent will include troops from Benin, Nigeria, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau, but possibly more countries, the broadcaster said. Ghana has made efforts to facilitate the joint preparations, it added.
 People cheer in celebration as security forces drive through the streets of the capital Bamako, Mali, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020, a day after armed soldiers fired into the air outside President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's home and took him into their custody. Not everyone is hostile to last week's coup in Niger. Neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali have taken the unusual step of declaring that foreign military intervention in Niger would be a declaration of war against them, too. Both have had coups in recent years.  - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 21.08.2023
Situation in Niger After Military Coup
Mali's Prime Minister Says ECOWAS Will Collapse If Niger Invasion Launched
On August 18, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs Abdel-Fatau Musah said that the block's general staff chiefs had agreed on the date of Niger invasion but would not make it public.
A coup took place in Niger on July 26. President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted and detained by his own guard, led by Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani. Following the mutiny, ECOWAS suspended all financial aid to Niger, froze rebels' assets and imposed a ban on commercial flights to and from the country. In early August, during a summit in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, ECOWAS leaders agreed to activate a standby force to potentially compel the Nigerien military to reinstate Bazoum.
Newsfeed
0